Federal scientists are exploring connections between a warming Atlantic ocean and record lobster landings off southwestern Nova Scotia and in the Bay of Fundy.

Adam Cook, lead lobster research scientist for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, said those locations have seen the greatest temperature increases too.

He said there's clearly a relationship between temperatures and population but other factors are also involved in the remarkable rise in lobster landings, including a decrease in ground fish predators over the same period.

In the lab, warmer temps produce more eggs

With a decade-long rise in temperatures, including record highs in 2012 and 2016, researchers at DFO laboratories in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick are now studying the impact of warmer temperatures on egg production, egg quality and moult timing.

Economic analysis from the federal government reveals the economic clout of the lobster fishery in southwestern Nova Scotia. Preliminary estimates for 2015-16 show landings nearing 40,000 tonnes and worth more than $500 million.

Occasionally, a lobster's DNA mutates in a way that turns it blue. This lobster is part of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans' study of lobsters and warmer water. (CBC)